More than just a game

Published: Saturday, March 8, 2014 at 03:18 PM.

As an employer what part of Capt. Mario Wiley’s legal deposition in the case of United States vs. Sheriff Terry Johnson would be the most troubling?

Was it when he admitted to playing video games while being employed by Alamance County taxpayers to work for the Sheriff’s Office?

Or was it when he owned up to the accusation that at least one of the games he was playing was, let’s face it, exceptionally violent even by pretty sorry video game standards?

Perhaps it was when the deposition revealed that one particular video game he played on the job was all about shooting people as they virtually crossed the border from Mexico into the United States, including pregnant women and children?

Maybe it was when he actually sent a link to this rather disgusting game to his co-workers in the Sheriff’s Office with the implied urging for them to play and, well, enjoy themselves?

Hmmm.

Frequently when confronted with multiple choice questions the option for “All of the Above” is included.

Mark me down for “All of the Above.”

THIS PAST week the U.S. Department of Justice and attorneys for Johnson filed documents with the federal court asking for a quick end to the pending case the DOJ brought against the sheriff on allegations of bias against Latinos. The pleas for summary judgment simply ask a judge to rule on the case without a trial. Most attorneys do this as a matter of routine just to see if a trial can be avoided in cases where no other agreement appears likely.

As most around here know, this case has been around for a while. Federal investigators began looking into alleged law enforcement discrimination by the Sheriff’s Office involving Latinos in 2010. In September 2012 the DOJ released its findings and in December filed a lawsuit after the sheriff declined to allow the federal government to come to Graham and fix whatever it believed to be wrong with his department. For his part, Johnson has denied the allegations and says he’s more than willing to go to court and fight. Last week he offered to take a lie detector test and have his accusers do the same.

Anyway, since December 2012 there has been a nonstop battery of motions and counter-motions by both sides — all leading up to a possible trial date in July. The county has spent a good chunk of change in Johnson’s defense. And the federal government has shelled out some taxpayer money in its effort, too.

Don’t forget that funding thing cuts both ways.

The recent motions, though, include the most detailed information yet about the case the DOJ has constructed and how the sheriff intends to respond. In the news business — and in court cases — stories like this one sometimes come down to “he-said, she-said” scenarios. Sorting fact from fiction isn’t always so easy. People choose sides early on and believe one over another thereafter.

That’s one big reason I want to see this case go to trial. Let an impartial third party sort it all out.

And let’s see what happens.

BEYOND THAT, though, I keep coming back to this video game known as “Border Patrol.” There is no “he-said, she-said” here at all. Wiley owned up to it in a deposition taken last year in Greensboro. The object of the game is to shoot Mexicans crossing the U.S. border.

According to the DOJ exhibit, “Blood splatters on the screen as the figures are shot, and the final screen of the game shows how many ‘wetbacks’ one has killed.”

Just lovely.

And Wiley played this game on the job. In his deposition he stated that he played “Border Patrol” often on the night shift when things aren’t that busy.

Now I’m not naïve enough to believe that people don’t waste time on the job. Some do it via Facebook or YouTube. Others do it on eBay or Amazon. A few watch TV. Others might read a book, magazine or unbelievably a newspaper. It happens everywhere.

But really, it’s not supposed to.

And when it does, well, it should be monitored and controlled. Put it this way, someone in a public job shouldn’t be constantly engaged in doing something that might reflect poorly on the department he or she represents.

And if Wiley shared the game by email with others, then, folks at the Sheriff’s Office knew about it and perhaps should have stopped it. The email would be like a flashing sign that warns those in charge that this kind of thing might not look good if it became public knowledge. In fact, nothing about it should look good to anyone anywhere at any time.

But sometimes things aren’t as clear as they should be.

“In this game, you shoot as many as you can shoot. I mean it’s — it’s a game — like you say, it’s a game,” Wiley stated in his deposition.

Hardly.

Madison Taylor is editor of the Times-News. Contact him by email at mtaylor@thetimesnews.com

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As an employer what part of Capt. Mario Wiley’s legal deposition in the case of United States vs. Sheriff Terry Johnson would be the most troubling?

Was it when he admitted to playing video games while being employed by Alamance County taxpayers to work for the Sheriff’s Office?

Or was it when he owned up to the accusation that at least one of the games he was playing was, let’s face it, exceptionally violent even by pretty sorry video game standards?

Perhaps it was when the deposition revealed that one particular video game he played on the job was all about shooting people as they virtually crossed the border from Mexico into the United States, including pregnant women and children?

Maybe it was when he actually sent a link to this rather disgusting game to his co-workers in the Sheriff’s Office with the implied urging for them to play and, well, enjoy themselves?

Hmmm.

Frequently when confronted with multiple choice questions the option for “All of the Above” is included.

Mark me down for “All of the Above.”

THIS PAST week the U.S. Department of Justice and attorneys for Johnson filed documents with the federal court asking for a quick end to the pending case the DOJ brought against the sheriff on allegations of bias against Latinos. The pleas for summary judgment simply ask a judge to rule on the case without a trial. Most attorneys do this as a matter of routine just to see if a trial can be avoided in cases where no other agreement appears likely.

As most around here know, this case has been around for a while. Federal investigators began looking into alleged law enforcement discrimination by the Sheriff’s Office involving Latinos in 2010. In September 2012 the DOJ released its findings and in December filed a lawsuit after the sheriff declined to allow the federal government to come to Graham and fix whatever it believed to be wrong with his department. For his part, Johnson has denied the allegations and says he’s more than willing to go to court and fight. Last week he offered to take a lie detector test and have his accusers do the same.

Anyway, since December 2012 there has been a nonstop battery of motions and counter-motions by both sides — all leading up to a possible trial date in July. The county has spent a good chunk of change in Johnson’s defense. And the federal government has shelled out some taxpayer money in its effort, too.

Don’t forget that funding thing cuts both ways.

The recent motions, though, include the most detailed information yet about the case the DOJ has constructed and how the sheriff intends to respond. In the news business — and in court cases — stories like this one sometimes come down to “he-said, she-said” scenarios. Sorting fact from fiction isn’t always so easy. People choose sides early on and believe one over another thereafter.

That’s one big reason I want to see this case go to trial. Let an impartial third party sort it all out.

And let’s see what happens.

BEYOND THAT, though, I keep coming back to this video game known as “Border Patrol.” There is no “he-said, she-said” here at all. Wiley owned up to it in a deposition taken last year in Greensboro. The object of the game is to shoot Mexicans crossing the U.S. border.

According to the DOJ exhibit, “Blood splatters on the screen as the figures are shot, and the final screen of the game shows how many ‘wetbacks’ one has killed.”

Just lovely.

And Wiley played this game on the job. In his deposition he stated that he played “Border Patrol” often on the night shift when things aren’t that busy.

Now I’m not naïve enough to believe that people don’t waste time on the job. Some do it via Facebook or YouTube. Others do it on eBay or Amazon. A few watch TV. Others might read a book, magazine or unbelievably a newspaper. It happens everywhere.

But really, it’s not supposed to.

And when it does, well, it should be monitored and controlled. Put it this way, someone in a public job shouldn’t be constantly engaged in doing something that might reflect poorly on the department he or she represents.

And if Wiley shared the game by email with others, then, folks at the Sheriff’s Office knew about it and perhaps should have stopped it. The email would be like a flashing sign that warns those in charge that this kind of thing might not look good if it became public knowledge. In fact, nothing about it should look good to anyone anywhere at any time.

But sometimes things aren’t as clear as they should be.

“In this game, you shoot as many as you can shoot. I mean it’s — it’s a game — like you say, it’s a game,” Wiley stated in his deposition.

Hardly.

Madison Taylor is editor of the Times-News. Contact him by email at mtaylor@thetimesnews.com